The increase in world energy demand linked to growing pressure for control of polluting emissions, responsible for global climatic changes, has brought about increased interest in the utilization of alternative sources for the production of fuels, particularly natural gas which promises to be the principal commercial energy resource of the 21st century. World reserves of natural gas have increased in recent years and conversion of this energy source into synthesis gas, consisting of a mixture of H2 and CO, creates many possibilities for production of a large number of fuels and chemical products.
This represents an excellent option for reducing dependence by the world economy on the preponderant use of crude oil. In addition to natural gas, synthesis gas may be produced by gasification of other materials such as heavy oils, biomass, coal, petroleum coke, etc.
In the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, synthesis gas is converted into hydrocarbons, water and oxygenated products such as alcohols, aldehydes and ketones. Said synthesis gas may be produced by water vapor reformation of natural gas or by gasification of heavy hydrocarbon fractions, of coal or of biomass. For economic and environmental reasons natural gas has stood out as the principal source of raw material for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.
Meanwhile an important problem occurring during synthesis reactions is loss of efficiency by the catalysts from the fact that the waxes produced in the stages of hydroprocessing reactions cause encapsulation of the particles of such catalysts and in this manner give, rise to deactivation thereof which, from a practical point of view, imposes the necessity of finding a solution to this problem affecting normal catalysts.